How to kitesurf: Ollie – Strapless – North Kiteboarding Academy

The Ollie is your first step into the world of strapless jumps.

 

There’s not a lot of movement with the kite except sending it ‘up’ before takeoff, and redirecting it back ‘down’ for the landing.
The main focus is on the board and your feet.
Start by carving a small turn upwind and kicking the heels of your back foot into the water. Now comes one of the key points: while kicking the tail of your board into the water, shift the weight from the heels, to the toes – this will lift the windward rail of the board which is essential for most jumps with your strapless board.

When the windward rail is higher, the wind presses the board to your feet.

The second thing that helps to not lose contact with the board is the fact that the nose of the board is facing into the wind and higher than the tail – to get into this position it’s important to quickly bend your front knee during takeoff.

After takeoff, use the toes of your back foot to pull the tail of your board up and into the wind. Directing the tail upwind will turn the nose downwind – this is exactly what you want: carve upwind for takeoff, turn during the jump, and land downwind.

And finally for the landing, try to shift your body weight slightly onto your front foot.

Let´s remember the key elements:

During takeoff shift the weight from the heels to the toes of your back foot to get the windward rail higher
After takeoff, use the toes of your back foot to direct the tail of your board up and against the wind.
Turn downwind and shift your weight to the front foot for landing